How to spot fake ticket resellers

When an event sells out, the comments fill up with people offering spare tickets. Some are real. Many aren’t. The scams follow the same few patterns, and once you know them they’re easy to avoid.

Warning signs

• The seller asks for an e-Transfer, gift cards or crypto. These payments are hard or impossible to get back.
• They send a screenshot of a QR code as “proof”. A screenshot can be sent to ten people, and only the first to arrive gets in.
• The account is new, private or has almost no posts.
• The price is a little too good, or the seller is pushing you to pay right now before someone else does.
• They won’t do a video call or meet in a public place.

Buy from the official page first

Before looking anywhere else, check the event’s own page. Organizers often release extra tickets close to the date, or add a final batch when the venue confirms capacity. Following the organizer means you’ll see their events as soon as they’re posted.

If you do buy from someone else

1. Pay by credit card or a method with buyer protection, never by a transfer you can’t reverse.
2. Ask the organizer whether they allow resale and how they handle it. Contact them from the event page.
3. Ask the seller to cancel their order and let you buy the released ticket yourself, if the organizer agrees.
4. Keep every message and receipt in case you need to dispute the payment.

Fake event pages

Some scams copy a real event’s poster onto a page that isn’t the organizer’s. Check the host’s profile: do they have other events, a history of posts, links from the artist or venue? If the artist’s own social accounts link somewhere else, trust the artist.

Report it

If you think an event on our site is fake or misleading, use Report event on its page. Our team reviews every report and reports are never shared with the organizer. If you’ve already lost money, contact your bank or card issuer right away and report the fraud to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.